Using Vegetable Oil Fuel: The Veggie Van

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PHOTO: STAN SHOPTAUGH
The Veggie Van traveled all around the United States running on used vegetable oil from fast food restaurants.

It was an idyllic August morning in southern Germany when I first saw a farmer pour vegetable oil into his tractor. I watched him lift the heavy jug of yellow liquid up, balance the lip of the jug on the tractor’s filler hose, then pour the vegetable oil directly into the fuel tank. I wondered if I was dreaming or if he was crazy. Little did I know … 

The Idea Behind the Veggie Van 

The following year my wife and I, then seniors in college, undertook to write a joint thesis on energy and the environment. We dreamed of finding a place in the country and having an organic farm. But as we researched the state of the planet, our dreams began to fade. We learned that global warming, urban sprawl and the pollution and depletion of our natural resources are no longer localized problems. We became convinced that unless consumption patterns change, our children’s Earth will be but a shadow of the world we now know. 

We decided to do something radical to bring attention to at least one environmental problem and a possible solution. Our thoughts returned to the farmer and his jug of yellow liquid. Suddenly, the idea hit: We would drive a Winnebago, equipped with a standard diesel engine, on a cross-country trek fueled by leftover vegetable oil from fast food restaurants. We would turn the McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chickens of America into a chain of low-cost gas stations. But could so outrageous a plan really stand a chance? Well …

A Bit of Biodiesel History

  • Published on Aug 1, 1999
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